Last year Google announced the gradual introduction of a brand new Google Ads campaign type called Discovery Campaigns. Although it has been in beta testing for almost a year, this new tool is now available globally to Google Ads users. Discovery Campaigns offer some great benefits to businesses looking to promote themselves on the platform, allowing you to attract the eyes of potential customers before they even know that they need you! Plus, they are easy to set up.
In this article we will be breaking down everything you need to know about the new Discovery Campaigns on Google Ads and what you need to do to create them.
What Are Discovery Campaigns?
Google’s new Discovery Campaigns are mobile first, machine learning, visually rich ad campaigns designed to reach users on the Google Discover platform, YouTube and Gmail. The machine learning aspect means that Discovery Campaigns use the “power of intent”, as noted by Google’s VP of Product Management Brad Bender, to reach users based on users’ past actions on the platform. These actions include what websites users visit, videos they watch and products they purchase. Using this “power of intent”, Discovery Campaigns become incredibly effective at finding your target market for you. Essentially, these campaigns are designed to place your business in the eyes of consumers who may not even be aware that they need you yet, allowing you to get a head start on your competitors in the purchase process.
Google Discover is the new name for the Google feed. This is a place where Google users can read the news, browse topics they have followed and even be introduced to new things that they may be interested in.
Step 1: Create A New Campaign
The very first thing you need to do is sign into your Google Ads account and create a campaign. If you are new to Google Ads or just finding your feet on the platform, you can create a campaign by clicking the ‘Campaigns’ text on the left of your Google Ads screen.
After clicking ‘Campaigns’ you will be directed to the Campaigns tab. You will see a blue circle with a plus button within it, just to the right of where you clicked ‘campaigns’. See the image below for reference. This is the button you need to click to start creating a campaign on Google Ads.
Next you will need to choose a campaign goal and a campaign type. For a Discover Campaign you will need to choose a Sales, Leads, Website Traffic goal or no goal. Once you have chosen one of the goals you will see another element pop up asking what campaign type you would like to choose. This is where you will need to choose the Discovery Campaign at the bottom right of the second line. After you choose the Discovery option click continue to move on to the next step. You will know if you are ready if your screen looks a little like this:
Step 2: Set Up Your Metrics
If you have used Google Ads before then this step will be very familiar to you. After selecting your campaign goal and type you will be directed to a page where you will need to fill in your:
- Campaign name
- Location targeting
- Languages
- Bidding strategy
- Budget
- Audience targeting
Once you have filled out this information it is time to start creating your Discovery ads! If you are having any trouble filling out these boxes you can get in contact with our team by clicking here. We can take you through what you will need to do step-by-step.
Step 3: Create Your Discovery Ads
Now that you have reached Step 3 it is finally time to start creating your own Discovery ads. When you click ‘New Ad’ you will notice that there are two types of Discovery ads you can create for your campaign; a Discovery Carousel ad and a Discovery ad. We will take you through how to create both and how they are different from each other.
Discovery Carousel Ad
Discovery Carousel ads are designed to be visually engaging and operate much like carousel ads. You can set up multiple products (up to a maximum of 10) which will display together on the Google Discover platform, YouTube and Gmail. This is great way to show potential customers your product range or even your sale items to help increase brand awareness and your purchase conversion rate.
To create your first Discovery Carousel you will need to fill out the following:
- Ad headline (up to 40 characters)
- Description (up to 90 characters)
- Product images (minimum of 2, maximum of 10
- Your business name & logo
- The final URL & mobile URL
- Any call to action text you would like to include
Congratulations, once you have filled out this information you can click create campaign and launch your very own Google Discovery Campaign. You can see what your Discovery Carousel ads will look like on YouTube in the image below:
Discovery Ad
The Discovery ad is different to the Discovery Carousel ad in that they are designed to be much like Display ads and do not feature a carousel option. They do still remain visually striking and are perfect for businesses looking to attract the eyes of potential customers ahead of their competitors. Discovery ads can be placed on the Google Discover platform, YouTube and Gmail. To create a Discovery ad you will need to fill out the following:
- Ad headline (up to 40 characters)
- Description (up to 90 characters)
- Images (at least two, in Landscape image (1.91:1):Min. size: 600 x 314 and Square image (1:1):Min. size: 300 x 300
- Business name & logo
- Final URL
- Any call to action text you would like to include
Once you have filled out this information it is time to click create campaign and launch your own Discovery ad! If you want to see a preview of what your Discover ads will look like you can see an example in the image below:
How Did You Go?
How did you go creating your first Google Ads Discovery Campaign? We think this new tool will be incredibly useful for any business using Google Ads. If you have any questions about Google’s new Discovery Campaigns you can get in contact with our team by clicking here, or reach us on our Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
